Theories of Gender Development

Question 1

Evolutionary Psychology - Basic Idea

Answer 1

Gender differences arise due to successful evolutionary adaptation to varying reproductive demands / strategies of males and females; gender is a strategy to maximize reproductive potential

Question 2

Hormonal theory of gender development - Basic idea

Answer 2

Hormonal influence on neuronal organization (i.e. brain lateralization) is responsible for some differences between genders - i.e. girls are better at verbal, boys are better at math

Question 3

Hormonal theory of gender development - Limitations

Answer 3

Actual differences in brain lateralization between genders are small or non-existent; differences in cognitive processing are decreasing at rates not accounted for by genetic changes

Any differences in cognitive processing between men and women more likely related to learning / social environment and expectations

Question 4

Cognitive Development Theory of Gender - Basic Idea

Answer 4

Kohlberg

Children develop a sense of gender from what they observe and experience; interaction between thoughts and behavior leads to cognitive consistency, which is self-satisfying, and leads children to behave in ways that match their self-conception

Question 5

Kohlberg’s stages of gender development

Answer 5

1. Gender identity
2. Gender stability
3. Gender consistency

Question 6

Social Cognitive Theory - Basic idea

Answer 6

Bandura and Bussey

Cognitive processing of observations / experiences lead children to categorize selves as girls and boys; children gain knowledge of gender roles / attributes which govern rules for behavior

Question 7

Gender categorization

Answer 7

Occurs at birth; involves different names, clothing, hair styles, etc.

Children come to use these different physical attributes to indicate gender

Question 8

Gender Intensification Hypothesis

Answer 8

Hill and Lynch

Physical changes of puberty highlight differences between the sexes and signal thee transition to adult roles; gender-role expectations of significant others (peers, parents) intensify

Question 9

What percentage of children engage in some kind of sexual behavior < 13?

Answer 9

50%

Question 10

Gender Awareness - Timeline

Answer 10

7 months - infants discriminate between male and female faces and voices; can match faces and voices by gender at 12 months

2 years - children engage in gender-stereotypical behavior, even before sense of own gender is constant